Comparison of wideband and clinical acoustic reflex thresholds in patients with normal hearing and sensorineural hearing loss

Acoustic reflex thresholds (ARTs) obtained with a wideband (WB) probe and an adaptive threshold detection procedure were compared to ARTs using a clinical system. Ipsilateral and contralateral ARTs were elicited in a group of 79 adults with normal hearing (NH) and 51 adults with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). ARTs were obtained for both methods using activator tones of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 kHz and broadband noise (BBN) with a bandwidth extending to 4.0 kHz for the clinical and 8.0 kHz for the WB ART. Results were similar for ipsilateral and contralateral ARTs. Tonal ARTs with the clinical method were slightly elevated for the SNHL group for all three activator tones, but for the WB method were elevated at 2.0 kHz where the average hearing loss was greatest (47 dB HL). ARTs for BBN were higher for the clinical method than the WB method for both groups, and the difference between groups was around 5 dB for the clinical method but 12 dB for the WB method. This suggests that ARTs with the WB method and BBN activator extending to 8 kHz are a more sensitive indicator of high-frequency SNHL than the clinical method. Individual reflex patterns will also be presented. Acoustic reflex thresholds (ARTs) obtained with a wideband (WB) probe and an adaptive threshold detection procedure were compared to ARTs using a clinical system. Ipsilateral and contralateral ARTs were elicited in a group of 79 adults with normal hearing (NH) and 51 adults with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). ARTs were obtained for both methods using activator tones of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 kHz and broadband noise (BBN) with a bandwidth extending to 4.0 kHz for the clinical and 8.0 kHz for the WB ART. Results were similar for ipsilateral and contralateral ARTs. Tonal ARTs with the clinical method were slightly elevated for the SNHL group for all three activator tones, but for the WB method were elevated at 2.0 kHz where the average hearing loss was greatest (47 dB HL). ARTs for BBN were higher for the clinical method than the WB method for both groups, and the difference between groups was around 5 dB for the clinical method but 12 dB for the WB method. This suggests that ARTs with the WB method and BBN a...